Suspicions could arise if money was strangely missing, but suspicions were rare when money strangely increased.
Sang-Hyeon was experiencing such a case.
'Oh. Today seems like a lucky day for making money.'
Due to the festive special of an outdoor stream after some time, it seemed like money was pouring in. He naturally attributed the reason to this and moved on.
‘If this continues, I could really move.'
It was a bit premature to think about the housing prices in a slightly livable area of Seoul, but his mind was occupied with a new apartment to move into. A south-facing, well-lit, with good ventilation and a riverside view... All the neighbors would be wealthy and wonderful people. And so on.
He could hear his grandmother's words and briefly escaped to a dreamland.
'Well. The current house isn't bad either.'
In fact, his current house was quite decent as a living space. There were memories with his grandmother, a decent yard, and it was a private house. He never had to worry about noise issues.
Apart from the worn-out interior finishes, incredibly steep stairs, swarms of bugs from the mountainside, randomly acting streetlights, and areas perfect for those dreaming of perfect crimes... not to mention the illegal shanty towns scattered around...
It was a good house.
'... Right?'
Anyway, that was how he had to think to survive. Otherwise, what else would he do?
“Earn money and move into an apartment!”
He could hear his grandmother scolding him.
'Grandmother. Now, I might really be able to move.'
Murmuring to soothe the spirit of his grandmother, Sang-Hyeon emerged from the capsule.
Chiiik.
"There's no special celebration for this game."
No host seemed to be coming to interview him, and the next challenge participants quickly entered. RunGuys was a very simple game and this minor challenge had little at stake.
— What did you expect?
— Celebration? RubySword already did it, man
— Trying to get more!? Greedy...
— Hey, Yu Sang-Hyeon. Are you possessed by Money Satan!?
Viewers argued that receiving donations was his reward. However, some viewers clicked their tongues at the malice.
— Those are the real devils LOL
— No, that's... that, that's just that!
— Satan: You're progressing too fast, bros.
— LOL
— Who's trying to cover the balance so recklessly? LOL
— Real irresponsible pleasure LOL
Sang-Hyeon received a lot of donations because he mistook a prize of one million won for ten million won.
He quietly surveyed the challenge booths again.
"Hmm. Well... it was a fast, fun, and decent game. There's still time..."
RunGuys was such a short and intense game. He could play another challenge.
'What can I really score big on?'
Sang-Hyeon wanted to score big because it was likely to be his last game.
— This man suddenly became proactive?
— Playing again? What a sight today
— Bro, don't overdo it...(clumsy)
'If possible, it's better to earn as much as I can.'
He didn’t want a challenge that rewarded him per victory, but something like a per-kill mission.
"I think I saw something earlier. Just a moment."
He opened the messages that he received. Among them, he found a decent challenge.
[Hitman Simulator]
[Eliminate enemies and complete the mission! Challenge points awarded per enemy eliminated!]
A challenge that paid as much as a player could accomplish. He found it.
“Hahaha.”
Sounds of delight from the officials at the booth could be heard outside.
"Almond came?"
"Wow. To our game booth? That's huge."
"See. I told you! Let's send an invitation message!"
They had even debated whether to send an invitation message to Almond because having a famous streamer participate wasn’t so easy.
"Sigh. We were placed in such a remote corner. I thought no one famous would come..."
The better the booth, the more money they had to spend. Had they not spent money? They spent every penny they had, but they couldn't compete with other companies that received real investments.
"But why did he come?"
"Exactly, our challenge doesn't even have viewer prizes..."
That was the second reason they thought famous streamers wouldn't come. Their challenge didn't include gifts for viewers like chicken gift cards. Streamers had no reason to play a new title from an unknown game company without any viewer gifts, but Almond came.
Not by chance, but he deliberately sought them out. It was a strange occurrence if there ever was one. Honestly, it wouldn't be out of place to suspect some hidden advertisement.
"Is it important why he came?" the manager stood up and didn’t want to dampen the mood. "What's important is that he came. Edit all the footage properly! Eh? Try to push forward a contract properly!"
"Ah, yes. Of course..."
Everyone at the table nodded. The manager was right. If Almond came, it was best to make the most out of the situation. Worrying about why he came was of no help.
However, sometimes the question of why was important.
"I've checked briefly why Almond came. It's already trending in the community."
A man with round glasses, Assistant Manager Park, found the reason.
"What? They mention such things in the community too?"
"Ah... that's a long story."
Assistant Manager Park refrained from adding that Almond was being lied to, thinking that a million won prize was ten million won.
"Anyway, Almond wants to get as many challenge points as possible right now."
"Oh? Really? But did we set that many?"
"Um..."
Assistant Manager Park was also doubtful about this, but the answer was clear upon a little thought.
"Maybe he saw the potential?"
"Potential?"
"Our challenge has the highest theoretical challenge points that can be obtained in one go."
"Yeah. We did that on purpose. To hook some people, but..."
The manager couldn't understand. Almond really came for that? It didn't make sense. They only offered such points per assassination target because of their poor circumstances.
"... He came for that?" he asked again to confirm it.
"That seems to be the case. If you sum up the situation."
"Then, there's no problem."
"Yes."
Almond purely aiming for challenge points was indeed a miracle for them. There was nothing problematic about it. Except...
"One thing, though."
"What?"
"There's a limit to how many challenge points we can tally. We have to buy them with money."
"..."
The manager stared at him for a while before speaking, "... You're worried he might take all of them?"
"He might not take everything, but we still have two more days of G-Star ahead..."
"No, Assistant Manager Park." The manager burst out with a resigned laugh. "What nonsense. I know he's good at games. What... why worry about such things? Ah, anyway, it's common to not even make it past the first office in the challenge mode."
The manager dismissed their concerns as nothing. He patted the assistant manager’s back reassuringly and left.
"I'll go with the manager. As we talked about earlier, make the most of this situation. Okay?"
"Yes!"
Everyone was in high spirits and Assistant Manager Park didn't bother to drag it out any further.